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Thursday, November 29, 2012

We have a window in the stairway to the second floor that is decked out for Christmas with a wreath, my Santa collection and my vintage wooden spool collection.

I love the scent of fresh greenery as you pass by, both pine and cedar. The wooden spools give the display some height and a rustic touch.

It was difficult taking photos in this tall and dark space. Either too much light or not enough. I love that you can see a peek of the window from the front entry.

Each Santa is unique and made from different materials, fabric, resin, wood and metal.

The quilted ball is one I made at a local quilt shop course many years ago (no sewing but lots of folding, tucking and pinning.)

That is one more little spot in our home decorated for Christmas. These little vignettes are some of my favourites, tucked away in spots that we would otherwise just pass by each day. Do you have a special Christmas item that you collect?

The chippy window was $5 from my favourite kijiji seller. I scrubbed it well (it lost a fair bit of paint) and decided to prop it up here. Thanks to Holly at Down To Earth Style for the chippy window advice!

For the swag I layered a couple of pieces of fresh cedar and pine and wrapped the stems with twine. A little scrap of linen was used to hang one of the mercury glass balls. Those suckers are heavy. The mirrored and beaded star was from a local decor shop a few years ago.

Told ya, night time photos aren't the best. Pine cones and another pair of mercury glass balls fill the little chicken wire basket I picked up at the thrift store last week.

This footed mercury glass bowl is one of my favourite purchases, $3 at a cute little gift shop one January on the way up north. I love the etched snowflake pattern on it. I added a few fresh greens some pine cones, clear blown glass balls and the last large mercury glass ball.

Can you believe the colour of this Windsor chair I painted is actually called Mercury Glass (Origins by Ben Moore collection at Canadian Tire.) I will have to share it in day light. It is a pretty white with just a hint of silver. The crocheted tablecloths were yard sale finds.

This Madonna and Child is a lovely piece I picked up this weekend at a little Christmas bazaar. It is surprisingly heavy, a silver metal with lovely sparkle. I could hardly believe they only wanted 75 cents for it. There were two and I am kicking myself that I didn't buy the other one.

The pair of mercury glass candle holders have stars etched on the glass. My hydrangeas aren't looking their best but I like that they add another shade of green. I may add some more pine or cedar to the pitcher.

There's a peek of our living room tree reflected in the mirror. I'm still searching for a larger mirror (at a great price of course) for this spot. And a new lampshade.

The vintage ironstone platter and French beaded pitcher add some more whites. The runner was a gift from a friend. The strings of bead garland are white and cream and were bought over 20 years ago at a craft store. The small glass balls in silver, white and cream contrast nicely with one of my large pine cones.

I started with the tree in the corner by the chair, but decided to move it to the other side of the doorway. I will share it and the rest of the room later in the week. So a little glam mixed in with lots of rustic. Browns to balance out the dark leather couch and wood dresser and lots of whites to keep everything from getting too dark. Our living room is so calming and I just love sitting in here in the evenings. The TV's are in our family room and basement sitting room, where I keep my kids happy using all our family ornaments and traditional colours. Hoping you are enjoying your week!

I am still playing with the arrangement and have real greenery in buckets on the porch waiting to be trimmed and added to the shelves. I started with just red and green with the ironstone, but decided to try some of my favourite blue ornaments after I hung my red on turquoise Christmas Tree Farm sign. Sometimes it helps to see the arrangement in photos (even if they are poor night time shots.) I can now see some of it will change, starting with the faux green swag. Hoping you have a great week ahead.

I also picked up this gravy boat with separate plate. I love ironstone and hope to find even more pieces to add to the kitchen.

Our front porch and family room tree is decorated and now I am working on our living room tree and lots of little vignettes. I hope to be able to share pictures this week. Have you started your Christmas decorating?

Monday, November 19, 2012

While I was searching for Christmas decorating inspiration today I decided to revisit one of my posts from last year....

Isn't this a pretty front door for Christmas and winter?

It belongs to this charming salt box home in Connecticut...

and the owners, Frank and Andra Mollica. Many of you may have seen the article in Country Living magazine, or on countryliving online, but I can't help sharing it. I admire the colours, textures, and simple feel of this home so much (including the Christmas decor.)

The wall and trim colours are very much like our main floor and hallways. Love the little trees in bowls and buckets. I would love to have a wall of windows with a wreath in each one. I might just have to try a similar look in our family room. Hmm...

The galvanized tub for a tree stand is another perfect touch, in my opinion. Can you tell I like my home to be a little simpler, a little more rustic?

Stop by the link to CL if you would like to see the kitchen and other photos. I'm going to strain my eyes analyzing these photos a bit longer ;)

clear glass and lots of shiny and glittery balls in shades of blues, cream, silver, white and silver.

I am still not sure if I will be using the blues on the tree this year, but I did add some new ornaments. Clear glass 'bubble' jar fillers (25 cents each at a local home decor store), shiny silver jingle bells (Martha Stewart at Home Depot for less than $3 a pkg.)...

and my favourite find so far, these big and heavy mercury glass balls (from the Debbie Travis collection at Canadian Tire for $4 each.) The large balls are not for the tree but will be used in a living room vignette. The chicken wire basket was a thrift store find for $2.

The Christmas bins are up from the basement and take up more than half our dining room. My guys are up north at a relative's farm today and picking up lots of greenery. I will be sharing progress photos once I get started. Are you busy with your American Thanksgiving planning or have you started your Christmas decor yet?

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I found a great pine buffet and hutch and some vintage ironstone this week.

We sold our solid oak buffet and hutch early this Fall and I have been searching for a smaller pine one (but it had to be affordable for us.) We picked this one up this morning from someone local. Although it is a simpler more rustic piece, I really like that it has open shelving and real tongue and groove backing. It isn't as deep so there is more room to sit at the table too.

I loved the oak buffet and hutch with all the drawers and paned doors. It was so well made, but it was just a bit too big for the small eat in area of our kitchen. My guys were also having a hard time with my desire to paint and distress it. Since they don't usually have strong opinions on decor stuff I thought it best to flip it (for a nice profit.) The new one just might see a new paint treatment in the New Year.

Now I need to decorate the shelves. I will probably use my latest ironstone finds, this pair of vintage Wade lidded ironstone serving bowls I found at the thrift store this week. A score for $6 each!

I love the creamy colour and the pretty scallops on the edge.

The inside of the lids are smooth and finished too.

We have lots ofironstone and white dishes in our dining room cabinet, so I will have to keep searching for more ironstone to fill these new shelves too. The knobs on the cabinet need to be switched out to black to match the hinges, and then I can take some time and decide what colour to paint it. Do you think a distressed white would make the ironstone disappear too much?

Sunday, November 11, 2012

I love re-purposing denim in projects around our home, and this week I made a pair of denim and linen Christmas stockings.

For the cuffs, I used the same linen tea towelling fabric that I used to make our dining room table runner last year.

I intentionally placed the fabric so that the original seam of the jeans shows.

The stocking loops/hangers are pieces cut from the hem of the jeans. Perfectly worn in, seams and all.

Christmas decor in our living room and dining room uses lots of blues and is a bit rustic, so I think these stockings will fit in nicely.

Now I am off to help watch my husband and sons put up the outdoor Christmas lights. We like to get this done on a nice day like today because they are not fond of trying to hang lights or climb a ladder with frozen fingers and wet feet!

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